The Palestinian People’s Party (PPP) has called for an urgent and comprehensive humanitarian response to the worsening conditions of displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where heavy rainfall and storms have flooded makeshift tents and left thousands of families exposed to the winter weather.
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Urgent national action is needed to provide relief to the affected families and confront the humanitarian consequences of the flooding.
Palestinian People’s Party Calls for Emergency Action against Flooding
In a statement issued on 7 November, the Palestinian People’s Party (PPP) warned that the flooding had further aggravated the suffering of hundreds of thousands of displaced people living in temporary shelters. Statement emphasised that the crisis could not be treated simply as a seasonal emergency, but had to be understood in the context of the destruction of homes and infrastructure during Israel’s war on Gaza, the continuing blockade and restrictions on reconstruction.
PPP called for Gaza to be treated as a disaster zone and for a comprehensive emergency plan to be implemented. The party demands includes the immediate provision of suitable tents and temporary shelters, blankets, winter clothing and heating equipment, as well as machinery to drain accumulated rainwater and prevent further flooding.
The party also called for the uninterrupted delivery of food, medicines and other essential supplies, and for better coordination between Palestinian institutions and international humanitarian organisations. The statement urged international pressure to secure the lifting of Israeli restrictions on humanitarian assistance, shelter materials and reconstruction supplies.
The scale of the emergency was also highlighted in reports from Gaza. On 7 November, Reuters reported that approximately 70,000 tents had been flooded within a 12-hour period, citing Gaza’s government media office. Civil Defence teams had reportedly received around 1,500 distress calls, while shortages of fuel and the destruction of equipment were complicating emergency operations.
The Palestinian People’s Party argued that protecting displaced Palestinians is a national, political and humanitarian responsibility, rather than merely a matter of temporary relief. The statement placed particular emphasis on the need to provide safe shelter and essential services while addressing the restrictions that prevent the reconstruction of homes and infrastructure.
The party’s intervention comes as the onset of winter adds another dimension to the humanitarian emergency in Gaza. For families who have lost their homes and remain in makeshift accommodation, heavy rain and flooding have turned already precarious living conditions into an immediate threat to health and safety.